Apparatus for continuously treating lengthy cellulose material



June 16, 1953 J. DUNGLER APPARATUS FOR coNTINuousLY TREATING LENGTHY cELLULosE MATERIAL Flled Feb '7, 1950 I N V EN TOR. BT2mal-7V27am/AMR Patented June 16,

UNITED 'APPARATUS `FOR "coN'rI'NUoUsLY 'TREAT- ING LENGTHY oELLULosE MATERIAL l J ulienDungler,v Basel, Switzerland Application'rbruaryv, 195o, seriaiiNo. .142,773

. lIn 'France Februaryy 16,1949

i claim. (c1. 321-11556) The present #invention relates `to an apparatus of-'treating, in particular, of -drying cellulose material in bulk and in a continuous manner, namely, paper, cardboard, cellophane and like sheet or'hygroscop'ic web `material after an operation involving Ithe wetting of the material (as byl printing, coating, impregnating, etc). -More particularly, v-thoug-h not exclusively, the inven tion isapplicable 'to thed-rying of paper colored by printing, .staining for other process.

encounters-difficulties1When-practiced on a large scale. Thus, Where a conVentionald-rier is used wherein thematerial is simply subjected to an atmosphere of elevated ytemperature for `a cer-f tainileng'th ofltime, the paper displays a tendency to -Wrin-klefover its 'entirewsurfa'ce and in particular to-curl :along its edges, especially "if thedrying isdcarried 'outatfairlylh-igh speed. In order to. .avoid these disadvantages, it has heretofore been necessary to dry the paper at a slow rate, involving its remaining in thedrying chamber for a considerable length of time.

Accordingly as a resultifof .this `slovv rate vof.

drying, it .became necessary to userather bulky equipment if the production Was to vpr'voceedsatisfactorily, vand,.indeedpinsonne instances not less than 2,000 metersiof paper were engaged Aby the apparatus at any one time.

.Azprmary object of the "presentfinvention 1is Vte provide means contributing to an improved treatment of Wetv lcellulose sheets Which avoids.

the .above diiiiculties and disadvantages in Aan apparatus 'or machine. `for ,carrying such treatmentjintoeffect.

:More particularly, :itis an object of this ini -It-is vknown that vthe jdrying of -colored paper.

vention tov provider means. avoiding undesirable deformation, Awrinkling, curling, etc., offwet yhyy groscopic sheet material'while the 'same "is..'ex.

tcfforce'the same against a support throughout vits Width.

According to another feature ofr the invention, the fluid isfdirected substantially perpendicular. and'in a plurality of individual jets or streams, upon the surface of the sheet to be treated While vby,projecting `a treatment uid at high speed. upon the surface of the sheet in` such manner as 2 the latter is advanced through the apparatus.

According to a further feature of the invention, thetreatmentffluid consists, essentially, of superheated vapor and/or steam which may or may notlbe admix'ed YWith air.

According to another object of the invention thevapparatus for realizing this treatment comprises .a preferably thermally vinsulated chamber, and means'for freely supporting the lengthy strip or Weby o'f-she'et material as it passes through the chamber, in combination Ywith means for directing streams of treatment fluid upon the surface of the materialfiso as to flatten and straighten .the same out vk'against suitable supporting means.

According to afurther feature of the inventien, the supporting means for the. sheet materialy may be constituted by a plurality of idler rollers.

According to still 'another feature of the invention, the advance fof the sheet material is accomplished .bytsuitable Afeed vmeans, such as a pick-up device, positioned at one end of the drying chamber therewithout.

@According tov yet a vfurther feature of the invention, the sheet traverses the chamber twice,

on a forward anda return run, passing both times along the same Yset of rollers.

These and otherfobjects'and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description-of a vpreferred embodiment, reference 'being had to the vaccompanying drawing shows somewhat schematically, in longitudinal cross section, an apparatus for drying printed paperin accordance With the invention.

The'endless printed paper vsheet material i emerges fromv the printing vmachine, illustrated diagrammatically 'at #2, and is led over guide rollers 3 with a slight sag as indicated at la.

V,The paper then enters byWay of an open end 'or slotj5 a. thermally vinsulatedchamber el, form-- ingpart of vthe treatment apparatus. Before entering slot 5 the 'paper has been in contact Withv guiding and supporting rollers 6.

Inside the chamber 4 the paper travels in substantially taut condition yover supporting means, such asa set of parallel and spaced rollers 'l which `are freely rotatable about their axes. It will be noted-that the paper I follows, on its Way through the chamber 4, a vforward run and a returnrun, indicated respectively at ib and lc, eachA y.time moving'successively past the. same rollers 1.

`As the web of paper advances through the chamber I, the face of the paper runs Ib and lc" bearing the printed stratum is subjected to streams or jets of a drying fluid which is projected upon the printed paper surface by means of opposite nozzles 8 and 9 defining therebetween a path and positioned close to and at an extremely small distance from the runs Iband Ic, respectively. v

Rollers 1 are positioned in spaced apart relation to each other and within said path between said nozzles 8, 9 in such manner, that a predetermined number of the nozzles are spaced from and disposed intermediate said spaced rollers. Thus, for the runs Ib and Ic, respective passageways are created which extend between rollers 'I and nozzles 8 and rollers 'I and nozzles 9, as clearly seen in the drawing.

The drying fluid is supplied to the nozzles 8 and 9 by means of blower boxes I0 `and II, respectively, communicating with respective blowers I2,-

admitted into the blower boxes I!) and II b-y way of conduits I8 and I9, respectively.

After the web of paper has traversed the chamber 4 on its forward and return runs, it passes again through the slot 5 Where portion Id is guided over several deflection rollers and iinally taken upy by, collector roll 2|. The rotation of this latter roll is preferably synchronized with that of the machine 2, by means shown here diagrammatically as a transmission 22.

The web of paper leaving the printing press 2 is subjected inside the chamber 4 to an extremely rapid and intense drying operation, by virtue of the fact that the drying iiuid, or at least a substantial portion thereof, consists of superheatedl vapor or steam, this drying fluid being forcedly projected against the printed face of the paper I. Owing to the elevated temperature of the fluid and the high speed of its circulation, the drying process is greatly speeded up, thereby attaining the advantage that the paper remains inside the chamber for a period of time markedly reduced to approximately 1,4200 of that required in known types of driers. Moreover, it has been found that this intense and rapid drying operation also produces a development and brightening of the colors giving the iinished paper product a high lustre all its own.

The curling of the edges, so troublesome when the drying is eiected in the conventional manner with known equipment, is effectively prevented as the result of the fact that the paper is straightened and ilattened against and between the supporting rollers 1, while the jets of iuid are discharged by the nozzles 8 and 9 in the direction of the rollers; furthermore, the speed of the operation likewise contributes to decrease of the tendency of the paper to curl or wrinkle.

The provision of idler rollers 'I to serve as sup-V porting means for the lengthy sheet material I simplifies the problem of advancing the paper through` the chamber 4 in synchronism with the operation of the printing press 2. The small lengths of the paper portions Ib, Ic, passing at` any one time through the chamber 4, makes it possible to dispense with any positively driven rollers or other feed and supporting means inside the chamber, the paper'itself acting as a belt interconnecting the several. rollers 'I for simultaneous rotation while bearing freely upon them under the pressure of the jets of the drying fluid. Thus, it is merely necessary to insure synchronization between the printing press 2 and the take-up roll 2l, in order to regulate the speed of the paper when passing through the chamber 4 to be equal to the speed at which .it leaves the machine 2 .(indicated by a constant sag portion It will, of course, be understood that the transmission 22 may be provided with any known speed changing means (not shown) for accomplishing this result in all instances.

The circulating Huid, after being discharged by the nozzles 8 -and 9, acts upon the paper I and thereafter mingles with the atmosphere of the chamber 4, whence it is again sucked by the blowers I2 and |31 for recirculation after reheating. Because of the closed circuit thus provided, it is possible to limit the action of the heating elements IE and I'I so as to produce just enough heat to compensate losses due to radiation or escape of fluid by way of slot 5, in addition to the heat necessary to vaporize the liquid of the wet or fresh print to be removed from the paper. Similarly, the admission of superheated steam through the conduits I8 and I9 may be so adjusted, after the start of the machine and during operation, so as to make up only for any loss caused by leakage.

Before the machine or apparatus is set in motion, the interior of chamber 4 is heated to the desired temperature by means of lheaters I6, I1 and introduction of steam through the conduits I8, I9. The excess'pressure produced by the influx of steam forces some or all of the air initially present in the chamber to escape through the slot 5. Depending upon the desired operating conditions, substantially all the air may be thus expelled from the chamber 4 before introducing the paper to be dried into the chamber, so thatvsuperheated steam alone will constitute the drying fluid, or else a greater or lesser part of the air may be retained, whereby the drying will be effected by a mixture of superheated vapor and It should be understood that the embodiment just described Vand shown in the drawing has been given merely by way of illustration and not as a limitation upon the scope of the invention which, on the contrary, may be modified in various ways without exceeding its scope. Thus, the shape, character, position and assembly of the elements shown as Well as the mode of operation of the' Also, two or more circulatory systems working in tandem may replace each of the systems I8, I 2 and 9, I3 shown in the drawing, if the volume of the l chamber would warrant it. Finally, the apparatus illustrated may be combined with auxiliary devices serving, for example, to admit other 5 treatment media into the chamber, to recover any luid escaping therefrom, or to evacuate the fluid from the chamber. It is, therefore, intended that all such variations, modifications and adaptations be included within the scope of the appended claim.

It can thus be seen that there has been provided according to this invention an apparatus for treating lengthy, wetted web material, comprising a chamber, a plurality of parallel rollers disposed inside said chamber, the peripheries of said rollers being aligned in two opposite, substantially parallel plan-es, said planes forming passageways for the forward and the return movement of said material, respectively, feed means for advancing said material through said chamber in contact with said rollers on both of said paths, two sets of nozzles positioned close to said two planes, respectively, and means including said nozzles adapted to discharge a treatment iluid at high speed simultaneously upon a forward traveling and a returning portion of said material, to thereby force said material into close contact with said rollers.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

An apparatus for continuously treating lengthy web material having a wet treated surface; comprising a heating chamber provided with a wall having open slot means, oppositely arranged rows of blowing nozzles in said chamber directing treatment uid for impingement upon said surface, said rows of nozzles being spaced a predetermined distance from each other to thereby 3 form a treatment path for said material, said nozzles being only spaced an extremely small distance from the material surface when the latter passes through said chamber, to thereby make eifective the impingement of said treatment fluid 40 on said surface, exhaust channels arranged intermediate adjacent nozzles of each row of nozzles whereby spent treatment fluid map be withdrawn from said path, a plurality of substantially parallel idler rollers for said material disposed 45 6 within said path to thereby obtain said distance of said material from said rows of nozzles whereby treatment passageways are dened between one row of said nozzles and one side of said rollers and between the other row of said nozzles and the other side of said rollers, at least some of said rollers being arranged intermediate opposite nozzles, other opposite nozzles being devoid of said rollers and laterally spaced from the latter, said rollers forming guide means for said material whereby said wet treated surface thereof is first exposed to treatment in one of said passageways while said material is being guided from without said chamber through said slot means over said rollers and then exposed to treatment in the other passageway, thence out of said slot means without said chamber, said rollers being adapted to support said material in substantially taut condition when said treatment fluid is directed from said nozzles against said wet treated surface, and feed means without said chamber and adjacent said slot means and adapted to move said material substantially under tension from said slot means of said chamber into the latter and over said sides of said rollers back to saidv slot means of said chamber for discharge therefrom.

` JULIEN DUNGLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 170,712 Clark Dec. 7, 1875 1,505,855 Breuer Aug. 19, 1924 1,670,991 Schilde May 22, 1928. 1,779,611 Merrill Oct. 28, 1930 1,813,411 Lippmann July 7, 1931 2,119,261 Andrews May 31, 1938 2,124,669 Fuykers July 26, 1938 2,133,330 Oien Oct. 18, 1938 2,225,505 Offen Dec. 17, 1940 2,226,319 Offen Dec. 24, 1940 2,439,722 Dreisel Apr. 13, 1948 2,442,148 Rose May 25, 1948 

